


Summoning Scrolls and Other Daily Disasters

by Hexadecimalrebooted



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Iruka is Naruto's dad. FIGHT ME
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-26 01:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18174164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexadecimalrebooted/pseuds/Hexadecimalrebooted
Summary: Iruka finds Naruto trying to put something unconventional into his summon scrolls.





	Summoning Scrolls and Other Daily Disasters

**Author's Note:**

> I'm planning to make this into a collection of short stories about Iruka finding Naruto doing dumb/silly things with his shinobi skills.

“Aaaaargh!”

The cry of frustration echoed through the afternoon air. Well, cry might have been too mild a word to describe the noise coming from training field five. Ear shredding would be more accurate. And it was a noise that Iruka was well acquainted with. Iruka sighed. He could never leave well enough alone when it came to Naruto. He turned and headed towards the wailing of a nine-tailed banshee. 

Reflexes honed from years of dealing with small children throwing sharp objects saved Iruka from getting doused in noodles, vegetables, pork and broth. Only Iruka's toes were stuck by some splash up as a container of ramen burst as it hit the ground at speed.

“Naruto!” Iruka barked. 

The boy jumped a little before his expression became a mixture of stubbornness and frustration. Iruka surveyed the training field. It was a disaster. There were noodles everywhere. Parts of the field were muddy from puddles of broth. Ants had already started to work at some of the pork pieces. Naruto had at least picked up the crushed and mangled takeout bowls and stacked them off to the side. 

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m trying to put ramen in a summoning scroll,” Naruto mumbled. He wouldn’t make eye contact with Iruka. His jaw was jutting out a little. Iruka sighed. 

“Food like ramen isn’t exactly ideal for summoning, you know that, right?” Iruka said.

“I just wanted to see if I could do it.” 

Iruka swallowed a sigh and smiled at Naruto. 

“Let me see how you’ve been trying it and I’ll try to help you from there, all right?” 

Naruto nodded. He glanced at Iruka before he pulled out the scroll. He carefully made the correct hand signs careful not to be sloppy under Iruka’s watchful eye. The ramen didn’t just fall out of the scroll or appear in a puff a smoke. It launched across the training field, following the same path as the bowl Iruka had dodged earlier. Naruto let out a growl of frustration. A second glance at the summoning scroll told Iruka everything he needed to know. Iruka crouched down next to Naruto and took the scroll from his hands. Iruka spread it out on the ground at their feet. 

“Naruto, this is a summoning scroll for weapons,” Iruka said, making sure to enunciate clearly. 

“Yeah.”

Iruka dragged a hand down his face. Was four in the afternoon too early to start drinking? The Hokage drank at any time of day and she was THE Hokage. Tsunade was also a functioning alcoholic at this point. Although Iruka had a hard time blaming her. If he had to justify everything he did to the council he’d get smashed every day too. 

“Naruto,” Iruka licked his lips and tried to gather his wayward thoughts. “These kinds of summoning scrolls have a very specific kanji in them.” Iruka tapped his finger against it to draw Naruto’s attention to it. “It’s for propulsion. It’s stored energy to make the weapons come out of the scroll in motion so they launch towards your enemy.”

“I knoooow,” Naruto said. 

“Then why are you putting your ramen in it and getting upset that it‘s shooting out across the training field?” Iruka asked, trying his best not to shake the kid. 

“Because it wasn’t working in any of my other scrolls so I thought I’d at least try,”

Naruto mumbled. 

“Oh.”

“How about this,” Iruka said. Naruto was looking towards the tree line, his expression sullen. The slump of his shoulders screamed defeat. “We’ll clean up this field together,” Naruto’s lower lip trembled ever so slightly. “Then I’ll treat you to some ramen and we’ll try to figure out the best way to put ramen in a summoning scroll together. Deal?” 

Naruto perked up exactly as Iruka knew he would.

“Yeah!”

It took over an hour to get as many of the noodles off the ground as possible. It was messy, gooey work and Iruka wondered if he’d be able to actually eat at Ichiraku after they finished. Because Iruka was a tyrant, he forced Naruto to go home and wash up before he would allow the boy to go to the ramen stand. It had taken a good amount of arguing to bully the boy into tidying up before food. 

Iruka made his own way home to change. Horrified to note that he smelled of a mixture of ramen, dirt and sweat, Iruka decided to leave his dirty clothes hanging on the balcony to air out. Iruka made it to Ichiraku just as Naruto was settling on a stool. 

“Naruto, I know you’re my best customer but you’ve already had eight bowls today.”

“Ah. Teuchi-san, we can’t talk about it but let’s just say that there were some complications and Naruto couldn’t enjoy his lunch,” Iruka said. Teuchi looked from Naruto to Iruka then simply nodded. 

Teuchi had food in front of them in short order. Naruto devoured two bowls in a blink. Iruka ate his own at a more sedate pace. Iruka drained the broth from his ramen bowl and a tossed back a small dish of cold sake. Naruto wrinkled his nose in distaste. Fortified, Iruka decided to tackle the issue at hand. 

“Naruto, you know, it might be a good idea to consider using cup ramen or instant ramen to put in your supply scroll rather than fully cooked ramen,” Iruka said. Teuchi made a strangled noise in the background. Iruka wasn’t sure if Teuchi was offended at the idea of his customers eating instant ramen. Orat the idea of his ramen being used in a supply scroll. 

“But I hate waiting for the noodles to be ready.” 

The words came out in a sullen tone. Obviously, the boy wasn’t quite over his earlier failure and frustration. Iruka gave it another bowl and a half before Naruto’s usual exuberance won the day. 

“Patience is just as important a shinobi skill as tree walking or throwing a kunai,” Iruka reminded him. 

Iruka pretended not to notice Naruto’s aborted eye roll and ruffled the boy’s hair. Iruka directed the conversation away from Naruto’s early morning activity, instead asked the boy about his latest mission. Unable to resist relating every detail to Iruka, Naruto regaled him with his harrowing mission to the land of tea. If Iruka hadn’t already pried every detail out of Kakashi he would have been hard pressed to believe it all. But then, it was Naruto. The boy excelled at the amazingly absurd. Or the absurdly amazing depending on the situation. 

Naruto finished his last bowl of ramen with a satisfied sigh. 

“So, Iruka-sensei,” Iruka knew that wheedling tone well. Naruto was tracing circles on the counter with his finger. “Is there a way to put good ramen in a summoning scroll?”

Iruka pursed his lips. “Not in a way that it would stay hot for any length of time. Or stop the pork and noodles from getting soggy.” 

“Oh.”

“It was a great idea Naruto. I have to say I’m jealous.”

Naruto’s face scrunched up. 

“I mean, I love ramen too and I never thought of putting it in a summoning scroll. I think you’re an even greater lover of ramen than me. And that’s saying something,” Iruka said. Naruto ducked his head, his ears going pink. Iruka ruffled his hair again just because he could. “Let’s go to the store and pick out some good brands for you to put in your supplies. And it might be time for a haircut too.”

Naruto made a huffing noise. “Fine.” 

Naruto stared at Iruka for a moment. He turned his attention to the ground, squirming as he asked, “Can you help me pick out some new kunai too?”

Iruka couldn’t stop the smile that spread over his face. 

“Of course.”

Iruka paid for their meal and wondered how much lighter his wallet was going to be after an impromptu shopping trip. He decided it didn’t matter in the face of spending some time with Naruto. Ruffling blond hair again, Iruka ignored Naruto’s squawk of annoyance and followed him down the road.


End file.
